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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27489550">Red String (Like Blood and Passion)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctolingO/pseuds/OctolingO'>OctolingO</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Perfect Halves [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Eventual Happy Ending, Happy Ending, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Red String of Fate, The warnings aren’t very bad but they are there</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:07:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,820</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27489550</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OctolingO/pseuds/OctolingO</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dimitri and Claude share a certain thing in common.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Perfect Halves [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2008831</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Red String (Like Blood and Passion)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/artimus13/gifts">artimus13</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>When Dimitri was growing up, he hated the red string around his pinky finger. It was always tugging, cutting off his circulation, and all around just being a nuisance. Especially when it got wrapped around his spear. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>That is, he’d hated it until he truly realized what it represented: a soulmate. Someone out there, who was Dimitri’s perfect match. His other half. The idea that there was a person in the world who could finally make Dimitri feel complete was comforting. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>He clung tight to that idea when his parents died. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Originally, he had suspected that his soulmate could have been Dedue, but Dedue didn’t have the telltale red string. The string got less tight as he grew older, and Dimitri waited anxiously for a flash of red thread.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>He finally met his soulmate when he came to Garreg Mach, and it was the greatest day of his life. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dimitri could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span> how close he was to his soulmate. The red string was as loose as it had ever been, to the point where he was holding it away from the ground so he wouldn’t trip anyone. Dedue, standing beside him, seemed slightly amused at Dimitri’s ramblings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“What if it’s a teacher? No, that couldn’t be right. It has to be someone from Leicester or Adrestia; the string hurt a lot when I was a boy. Dedue, who do you think it is?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“I do not know, Your Highness. I hope it is not Hubert.” Dedue said, completely serious. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>“Hubert? Oh heavens no, I don’t think so.” Dimitri eyed the dark-haired man in question with a wary gaze. Hubert had a very intimidating air about him, despite not being particularly muscular (like Dedue or Raphael). Dimitri tore his eyes away from Hubert and continued his searching of the crowd, until a head of fluffy brown hair caught his attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Claude von Riegan was talking animatedly with his friend Hilda, but Dimitri barely paid any mind to the pink-haired girl. He was solely focused on Claude, or rather, the red string tied around Claude’s finger. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dimitri thought, feeling himself start to smile. He strode up to Claude, keeping his hand with the string behind his back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hello, Claude.” He said. “How are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Hey there, Your Highness.” Claude said with a classic teasing grin. Dimitri felt himself starting to blush. “I’m doing just fine. What brings you over here to talk to me?” Dimitri took a deep breath and held up his hand. “Oh.” Claude said, shocked. His eyes were wide. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“We’re soulmates, I assume.” Dimitri hoped he didn’t stutter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Oh, yay Claude!” Hilda exclaimed, throwing her arms around her friend’s neck. “You finally found him!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Y-Yeah, looks like I did.” Claude said. He was still surprised that his soulmate was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crown Prince of Faerghus</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “So, Dimitri!” He took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips. “Would you like to eat with me later?” Dimitri nodded, and Hilda squealed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>The next few months of Dimitri’s time at Garreg Mach passed in a blur of joy and kisses stolen behind corners. He had originally been afraid of being passionate with Claude, not wanting to hurt his partner with his ridiculous strength, but Claude had made it clear on a few occasions that he was not a fragile man. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
  <span>The battle was quickly growing out of hand. Dimitri wasn’t even sure who was an enemy and who wasn’t at this point, he was just blindly swinging at anyone who came too close. There were hundreds of bandits surrounding the Deer and Lions. Dimitri himself wasn’t hurt yet, and neither was Dedue (courtesy of his heavy armor), but some of the other students were not quite as lucky. Mercedes was stumbling more than she was taking full steps, exhausted from all the magic she was using. Annette was suffering a similar fate that was not made better by the slice on her cheekbone. Felix’s nose was broken, though he was ignoring it in true Felix fashion. Sylvain had a nasty slash on his arm and Ingrid’s hand was burned. Ashe had blood in his eyes from a cut on his forehead, and an arrow sticking out of his calf. Ignatz, who was mostly unharmed save for a shard of glass from his broken spectacles in his face, was helping Ashe stay standing as the two archers did their best to take out the bandits. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Hilda and Claude weren’t hurt either, to Dimitri’s relief. For all of the complaining Hilda did, she was a remarkable fighter. Claude was nimble and accurate, fighting towards the front lines despite his being an archer. Marianne and Raphael were a team, Marianne using her healing magic as Raphael protected her with a pair of wicked-looking gauntlets. Raphael’s arm was bent in an unnatural direction, so he was having trouble fighting, but Marianne’s leg injury was more pressing and potentially dangerous. Lorenz was fighting on the ground with his lance after his horse had been stabbed, and was thankfully holding his own. Lysithea was exhausted, barely managing to keep standing, but her Dark Spikes spells kept coming strong. Leonie, carving a path of destruction with her spear, had blood on the side of her head that alluded to a concussion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dimitri, not paying enough attention to his surroundings as he fought, gasped in shock. He glanced down and saw the javelin protruding from his stomach before it was brutally yanked out, and Dimitri screamed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Claude was on the other side of the battlefield when he heard a blood curdling shriek. He whipped his head around, just barely seeing Dimitri’s blue-clad form slumping to the ground, a sneering cavalry unit above him. Claude narrowed his eyes, turning and firing a deadly accurate shot into the chest of the rider’s horse and the rider himself, then dashed through the battlefield towards Dimitri, his red string flapping in the air next to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Claude—” Dimitri choked out as his beloved reached him. There was blood all over his face, and it wasn’t his (his blood was coating every inch of his torso). “I’m sorry—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now you listen here, Your Highness.” Claude raised a scolding finger, despite the fact that he was trying not to cry. “You are not going to die on me.” He hefted Dimitri to his feet, slinging the prince’s arm around his shoulder. “Keep pressure on that wound, alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Claude, please—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright?” Claude raised his voice, and Dimitri let out a pained sigh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright.”  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Later, Claude confided in Dimitri that that instance, on the battlefield when Dimitri could’ve easily died, was one of the few times that Claude had ever been truly afraid. The instance helped further their relationship more than anything else, but Edelgard’s alter ego as the Flame Emperor threw Dimitri into a murderous rage that not even his soulmate could get him out of. War between the three nations soon followed, and with it, suffering. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>Dimitri stood, staring blankly out a window of the now in shambles monastery. There was a pit in his stomach, and not just because he hadn’t eaten in almost a week, despite Ashe’s desperate attempts. He would be battling tomorrow, at Gronder Field. Edelgard would be there, and Dimitri allowed himself to grin as he thought of spearing Edelgard’s head on a pike. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>But, Claude would also be there, and that thought alone was enough to contort Dimitri’s face in pain. Dimitri did not want to hurt his soulmate, mostly because despite how they’d drifted apart he still had intense feelings, but also because he had no idea how that would take a toll on him. Normally, he would confide his doubts in Dedue, but Dedue was no longer around. And he wasn’t the only one missing Dedue; he’d heard Ashe crying far into the night more times than he could possibly begin to count. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Dimitri shook himself. He had no time for foolish notions of romance and the accursed soulmate bond when he was preparing to silence the thousands of voices in his head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Gronder Field was a mess. Edelgard, in a fit of what could only be described as madness, had set the central hill on fire. Bernadetta’s shrieks were still audible through the flames, as were the distressed cries of Ferdinand as he leapt into the fire to rescue the timid archer girl. Despite all this, Dimitri’s focus was on Claude, not the Adrestian army. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>Claude looked tired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>He was sitting on his snow white wyvern, hand over his eyes to pick out targets before sniping them with the mystical bow Failnaught, but he looked thoroughly exhausted. Dimitri could only imagine how tough the last few nights had been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>The red string around Claude’s finger was straining towards Dimitri, as if fighting to reach him. Dimitri had lost all feeling in that finger a few months after Edelgard’s attack on Garreg Mach, and judging by the way Claude had to concentrate ever so slightly to wrap his hand around an arrow, the same was happening to the other man. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>“Claude!” Dimitri was cursing himself for ever speaking in the first place as the brown-haired man turned and looked at him. “Claude, I… I’m sorry to meet like this.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>“I am too, Your Highness.” Claude looked away and shot down a Faerghus soldier. “But this is war. We don’t have time for petty love.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>The war ended in a flurry of bloodshed and Edelgard’s corpse at Dimitri’s feet. Claude had disappeared after being defended at Derdriu, and Dimitri told himself it wasn’t his problem, that Claude could do what he wanted, all the while ignoring the growing hole in his heart. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>Then, Claude had reappeared at Fhirdiad, asking Dimitri timidly (Claude, timid!) if he would want to join Faeghus and Almyra as a pair of nations. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dimitri had accepted, and the grin on Claude’s face had been enough to brighten the darkness that still lurked within him. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you swear to take Claude to be your husband, to be your everlasting partner, until death do you part?” Byleth’s eyes were sparkling as she asked Dimitri a question that would change his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do.” Dimitri said, without hesitation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So serious.” Claude teased, prompting laughter from the Deer, Lions, and Eagles (those who had shown up, at least). </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And Claude, do you swear to take Dimitri to be your husband, and your other half, until death do you part?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
  <span>“Then and afterwards, Teach.” Claude said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then I pronounce you married.” Byleth grinned, and Claude was the one to pull Dimitri into a firm kiss. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope you’re ready to duel tomorrow.” Claude whispered in Dimitri’s ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Duel? Why?” Dimitri blinked, showing a bit of the innocence that had made Claude fall in love with him in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s an Almyran thing, don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you say.” Dimitri initiated the kiss this time, with the cheers of the onlookers as his backdrop. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shoutout to artimus13 for giving me some very good soulmate AU ideas!!! Stay tuned for more updates to the Perfect Halves series :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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